


Closer To The Heart

by MiChiAzalie



Category: Fate/EXTRA, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Fails, F/M, Fluff, Gudako being a little shit, Romance, mentions of other pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:41:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28313979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiChiAzalie/pseuds/MiChiAzalie
Summary: “That’s… No; for once, I want to get him something…” something that he would actually care about, Hakuno thought to herself.Hakuno would have avoided the crowded streets and the shopping centers and the stores blasting the same two Mariah Carrey songs on repeat had she not started dating with the smuggest, most disgustingly attractive bastard in existence. Since very few things in her life came out the way Hakuno wanted them to, she decided -in an act of utter desperation- to ask her two best friends to help her find the perfect gift for her self-proclaimed husband. She should have known, though, that asking those two for help would somehow backfire eventually, but the list of unpleasant things she would go through for Gilgamesh was long and embarrassing to admit.But how? How could one person be so difficult to buy for?
Relationships: Gilgamesh | Caster/Kishinami Hakuno, Gilgamesh/Kishinami Hakuno
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	Closer To The Heart

It was a depressing Saturday morning. The sky was the color of slate and large clouds were blocking the sun. She could hear the low rumble of thunder coming from somewhere afar and her eyes tightened as she looked up to the gray sky, praying the rain held off until the evening when she was back inside the safety and comfort of her home.

 _Ah, what a bother_... she thought as she rubbed her eyes tiredly, not even bothering to stop speed-walking as she did.

Very few things in her life came out the way Hakuno wanted them to. She knew, she just knew; her gut instincts never failed her; it was just as if misfortune followed her everywhere she went.

To the crowds of people passing through the commercial district of the city, Hakuno must have seemed like an unstoppable white and brown bolt of lightning as she sped through the crammed-up streets; there one moment and gone the next. It was certainly commendable that the five-foot-tall brown-haired woman had not stamped herself against anything or anyone.

As she speed-walked around the shopping district, listening to holiday music and getting caught behind slow people making last moment purchases, she had to wonder if fate, or whoever was that cruel mistress who was in charge of her luck, would ever let her have a moment of rest.

This was maddening. She had to get this done as soon as possible before she lost her sanity to overly-cheery Christmas music.

It didn’t come as a surprise to anyone who had known her long enough that if there was something Hakuno hated more than large crowds and shopping malls, that had to be the concept of shopping rushes, especially Christmas shopping rushes. Every time Christmas approached, she tried to avoid the malls and the shopping districts like the plague.

However-

“Hakuno, _slow down_. Are you even listening to us?”

Today was not the day.

Hakuno actually stopped, almost colliding against a woman who had not been expecting her to put a halt to her frenzied walking as abruptly as she did.

Now that she stood right in the middle of the street, Hakuno turned around slowly with a tired sigh. Behind her, looking equally as exhausted and a little bit frustrated, Rin Tohsaka stood, arms crossed as she tapped the ground with the flat of her stiletto heels. Besides her, clutching an almost comically large coffee cup in her hand, Gudako looked between the two of them with bemused yet amused eyes.

Hakuno would have avoided the crowded streets and the shopping centers and the stores blasting the same two Mariah Carrey songs on repeat had she not started dating with the smuggest, most disgustingly attractive bastard in existence -him being the reason as to why Hakuno was dodging people holding shopping bags at Fuyuki’s greatest commercial district, at nine in the morning, on a Saturday, with Rin and Gudako trailing behind.

The only thing keeping her from going back home to stay in her bedroom for the rest of the day and watch the rain fall was none other than Gilgamesh, the foreign CEO of a middle-eastern enterprise whom she met almost by chance at an event her university was holding, said man being the most exasperating, frivolous man on Earth she has had the misfortune of stupidly falling for.

“How, _how_ can one person be so difficult to buy for? This- _This_ is ridiculous,” she groaned, desperation showing in her voice as she felt her politeness filter starting to crack a little bit.

 _He_ was what brought her here, officially out of ideas and half-tempted to leave it alone, trying to find a present that he would like or at least find acceptable. Had she not been a year and a half with the smug bastard, she wouldn’t be spending a Saturday morning losing her mind over something as trivial such as this in the first place, stressing over some stupid gift because a part of her wanted to give him something meaningful of hers that for once wasn’t a list of sex favors and clothing items of questionable taste.

She wasn’t aware of how hard it was to shop for Gil until she found herself dodging slow walkers -probably in the same predicament that she found herself in- and hordes of kids and teenagers. If anything, one would have thought that shopping for someone as materialistic as him would have been easy, but it was far from true. She had thought so too, at least until she remembered the small detail that he was disgustingly rich and nothing would probably satisfy.

What could you possibly buy to someone who already has and can have anything they want in the world, anyway? She supposed that was the challenge of it all, and while she did like games, it was starting to get a little bit frustrating.

This was a nightmare. Gods knew Hakuno wasn’t the best suited person to make presents to anyone at all. Not only was she always at a loss at what to give, regardless of how many years she’s known the person, making gifts for people she cares about also makes her feel extremely awkward and self-conscious.

This is why, in a last act of desperation, she decided to call someone better suited to help her for the task, which were none other than Rin Tohsaka, possibly the snobbiest woman to ever have walked down the streets of Fuyuki, and Gudako, the greatest shitposter that the faculty of Arts of Fuyuki has ever had the honor to teach for -although she suspected that Gudako only decided to join in because she suspected they were planning something stupid and she wasn’t willing to miss it.

At the moment it seemed like a good idea. Rin, for one, was the most appropriate candidate to help her find something for Gil. After all, it took one snooty brat to know another, right? Who better than Rin Tohsaka, the girl who was always flexing her money around every time she had the chance, to help her get something for Humanity’s greatest attention whore? And Gudako was always coming up with new ways to bullshit her way through her problems even when said problems looked bleak as hell.

This better had to work. It _had_ to work.

Rin rolled her eyes at her. Hakuno almost felt offended by the gesture, and she would probably have been had she not been so used to her snotty friend by now.

“We are not going to accomplish anything if you just keep speeding through stores, you know.”

Well, Hakuno knew that already, but it wasn’t her fault that this whole situation was as annoying as it was unpleasant, nor was it her fault that she couldn’t stand Christmas because it was now all about presents and vain, superficial shows of affection. People could go on endless tirades about how Christmas was actually about 'family' all they liked, Hakuno and anyone with a set of fully functioning eyes and a brain could see the truth for what it was: Christmas wasn't about 'family' anymore. Rather, it was about selling large quantities of food, crackers, useless things nobody really wanted nor needed, wrapping paper and ugly sweaters and socks. A festivity turned into a nightmare in which people were roped into buying presents to save face in front of their loved ones.

Christmas was all about the exchange of money and the multinationals have won.

Although to be fair, it wasn’t that Hakuno hated Christmas. She just found it a little bit sad that a festivity such as this had been reduced to shopping madness.

As it seemed, the list of unpleasant things she would go through for Gilgamesh was long and embarrassing to admit.

“C’mon, whatever is probably fine,” Gudako said with a shrug.

“I somehow doubt it,” Hakuno mumbled morosely.

Rin groaned. “Why don’t you just get him a shirt or something? He’s thirsty for attention and has the taste of a new rich; as long as it’s flashy, expensive and has a designer logo knitted on it he will probably like it.”

Hakuno sighed again, looking contemplatively at the display in the window of the store in front of them.

“That’s… No; for once, I want to get him something…” _something meaningful_ , something that he would actually care about, Hakuno thought to herself. Of course, had this not been the case, she wouldn’t be as desperate as she was. Making senseless gifts to save face was something very easy to do, but it was far from being Hakuno’s intention; she could care less about social conventions and obligatory Christmas gifting. "…something that matters," she finally said, realizing a little bit too late that she had spaced out momentarily.

“There’s just no pleasing you, is there?”

Rin’s words, coupled with her own thoughts, made Hakuno’s expression fall. She moved away from where they had been standing and slumped down the nearest empty bench in that overly-crowded street, shoulders dropping in defeat.

Then, she gave her friend a dry snort of laughter.

“I’m- I don’t know. I’m officially out of ideas, Rin.”

Rin gave her a pitying look.

"We can see that clearly. So what will you do then, if not anything we’ve been telling you so far? Just cook some dinner?" Rin said, hands against her hips and fingers tapping impatiently as she moved to stand in front of her. "You know how picky he is too— regular food won't do."

“I know, I know— I just need to think. Maybe I could try something fancier for once.” 

“Hakuno, the three of us know that your cooking skills are subpar…”

Hakuno looked incredulously at her, _now_ feeling offended.

“Oh, so now my food is mediocre? I don’t want to hear that from _you_ , miss I-had-to-read-a-cooking-book-to-make-a-dish-of-noodles.”

Rin made a sound of aggravation at that and screeched, " _What's that supposed to_ \- hey watch it!" But a teenager almost tripped over Rin as he ran right in front of her in a rush to catch the last bus and broke her off mid-sentence. It was nothing short of a miracle that Rin was able to dodge that. 

The brunette rubbed her temples insistently.

“Just… let me think. Maybe I can find something simple and different at the same time, or…”

Before she could say anything else, she heard Gudako clearing her throat.

“…Or you know, you could always try _my_ idea instead,” Gudako chirped, giving her a sideway look while sipping from her latte.

“ _No._ There’s no way I’m doing that.”

“But it's the only good idea we have…" The redhead shrugged. "And c’mon! It's also the easiest— I mean, you won't even have to do much. Just pose a little and… you know. A little bit of this, a little bit of that…”

As she spoke, Gudako was making a great show of making over-exaggerated, obscene poses and moves, ones that no one at nine AM should be doing in front of a crowded street with kids passing by. It was certainly an image that would remain engraved into her brain for the rest of the day and one that told her that Gudako was spending too much of her time with the thots of the faculty.

Hakuno casted a glance around to see if anyone had been staring at them. A shocked, absolutely scandalized mother holding the hand of a little girl told her that at the very least _she_ had. The brunette could only cast her head down in shame as she silently prayed the ground could swallow her up.

Fantastic.

Hakuno sighed heavily then, almost sounding aggravated.

“What’s even the point of all of this if I all I can do is get him something that he’ll give less than two shits about?” she was well aware that her tone was becoming more and more incredulous as she spoke, but still kept going, “So no, I’m not going to get myself into fetishy lingerie and offer him a list of sex favors exactly like _you_ told me to for his birthday.”

She wasn’t sure if her cheeks were getting warmer because of a wave of embarrassment or because she was getting frustrated at both the situation and at the turn the conversation had taken.

On the other hand, while Gudako’s face was decidedly amused by her little outburst, the look on Rin’s face was that of embarrassed horror, face just as red as hers was. In retrospect, maybe she could have gone without knowing about that.

In any case, it was already too late for regrets.

“Well,” Gudako started after a small awkward pause during which Hakuno collected her thoughts and regained her focus, “I’m sure it’s more the thought that counts, right?”

That… might probably be the case.

…Nothing seemed to be good enough… so then… Just what could she…?

…Was that really the only option?

More importantly, was she even _that_ desperate?

_…Was she now?_

_…_

_No_.

She would be damned if she gave up on him for something so cheap.

But…

Hakuno’s gave the both of them a defeated sigh and a deadpan look to match.

“…I honestly have no idea what to do,” Hakuno croaked, pinching the bridge of her nose as she felt the first symptoms of a heavy headache start to become manifest.

The redhead only sighed at her. “Holy shit you’re hopeless.”

Yes, that was probably true.

Could any of this get any worse, perhaps? Hakuno really hoped not. She was having enough trouble with the cold and this stupid mission she had enlisted herself to.

* * *

After finding no such luck on the commercial district, her so-called friends dragged her into a shopping mall instead. This mall was big, had three levels of shops and, if it was possible, was far more crowded than anywhere they had already been at on that uneventful morning.

Her headache was only worsening and the only thing that kept Hakuno from considering throwing in the towel and just agreeing to go with Gudako’s piss poor idea was her own stubborn spirit; she was on a mission and she planned to see it through, she would check every nook and cranny in search of any store that would catch her eye before she would even consider agreeing to _that_ , which meant that she was officially in Christmas Hell now. Great.

Despite her hatred for overcrowded shopping malls -or overcrowded places in general-, Hakuno had been taking things slower this time around -or at least, that was the idea. So far, the only thing she’s have been successful with has been avoiding bumping into people that walked past them. Really, why were people so rude on Christmas? Wasn’t one supposed to be in their best behavior during these days of the month? Gods, she hates places like these for a good damned reason.

It was unfortunate that Rin and Gudako did not quite share her general distaste for malls and commercialism. They had stopped at _every_ little store that had caught their eyes with pretty clothing, expensive make-up and whatnot. That also included a longer-than-expected stop at some jewelry store as per Rin’s suggestion. Hakuno wasn’t sure how this was going to help her at all, but at least someone was having a blast, so that was something, she guessed. They visited so many different stores that Hakuno had managed to buy some things that she needed for herself, which was good, but still no idea what to gift her overbearing asshole with, which was bad.

During their many stops she had considered just getting him something flashy and absolutely decadent like Rin had told her earlier in the morning and be done with it -she did that on his birthday and for reasons still unbeknownst to her he had _liked_ that ugly cheetah-printed suit she got him-, but a little voice in her head still told her that wasn’t good enough.

Perhaps she was just tired. It was eleven AM already after all, and they’d been up since nine. After spending so much of her time walking around and getting absolutely nothing accomplished, Hakuno felt she needed to be awarded with a break. Maybe if caffeine _and_ sugar ran through her veins once again she would see things in a better light?

As if sensing her ever souring mood, Rin snapped her fingers in front of her face before she could space out for much longer.

Hakuno looked up to her then, startled, whereas Rin simply raised one questioning eyebrow at her before addressing her.

“Gods, you look like a wreck. You’ve been completely out of it since we got here. Are you sure you’re alright?”

Not really, but before Hakuno had the chance to speak up her thoughts though, Gudako interjected, laughing a little.

“Of course she’s fine, don’t you see that she’s always spacing out? Yeah, yeah, she’s perfectly fine!” the redhead said, laughing and clapping her back.

“Very funny,” Hakuno mumbled dejectedly.

But who wouldn’t be spacing out after passing by the same stores over and over again and listening to the same Mariah Carrey songs for the past two hours? If anything, spacing out was a coping mechanism.

“Oh, Hakuno, if only you could see your face, all grumpy-looking and all… C’mon, don’t you even have an ounce of holiday spirit within you or what? This is not like you at all. Cheer up! If you don’t, you might just find yourself visited by the _ghooosts_ of Christmas Eve,” the redhead said, amused by her own joke.

“It’s…” Hakuno sighs. “I’m just tired. All this holiday music is driving me _nuts_ and I’m still at a loss at what to do,” she retorted, frowning. “I need a sign, and maybe a whole blister of Advil too; something, _anything_.”

“Have you thought of getting him a magic eight ball for Christmas?”

Hakuno shot her a deadpan look. “ _Gudako_.”

“Hey, I’m trying to help, honest to God!”

The deadpan stare morphed into a knowing look.

“You’re just here for the ride.”

To which Gudako only shrugged in response.

“Yeah, maybe, but helping you is part of the whole ride, right?” Gudako said easily, because there was really nothing that could bring the redhead down. “So don’t you worry your pretty little head about it; I know exactly what you need!”

Hakuno gave her a strange look, a hesitant kind of doubt in her tone of voice.

“...Really?” she asked.

“Yup! A coffee break!" she chirped. "My treat, of course. You can keep agonizing and overthinking after that if you want.”

Hakuno sighed again.

Of course.

“Please,” she agreed dejectedly.

Which is how she ended up in one of the five or six Starbucks in the large mall with one of those ridiculously large cups of mocha latte -hers had more whipped cream and chocolate syrup than actual coffee but details, details.

Closing her eyes slightly, she slumped against the table, her hands resting underneath her chin as a means to keep her head raised as she was left alone with her thoughts to make her company while the other two chattered about something she wasn’t really bothering listening to at the moment.

As the conversation kept going in the background, she gave herself some time to meditate.

 _Something meaningful_ , she had thought. But what? She’s known him for a while now; sure, probably not much, but enough to know how he functioned on a day-to-day basis. A man with a taste for the overly extravagant, who abhorred fakes, who knew of every pleasure the world had to offer despite his young looks. He was a storm of a man most of the time, but strangely detailed and passionate if one got close, which didn’t happen that often.

As she glanced at the big Christmas tree in display through the window, watching the haggard looking man in a Santa suit letting over-excited children sit on his lap for probably much less than the minimum wage, Hakuno contemplated her options. So far none of them looked pretty good.

It was at that moment that she heard the redhead directly address her again, some traces of mirth still present in her tone.

“Hakuno, if you keep sulking like that you will turn into a fictional green character who enjoys sucking the life from Christmas,” she said.

Pulled away from her thoughts and feeling a little bit offended at the accusation, Hakuno gave Gudako a look that was supposed to be quelling but that only served to make the other laugh harder.

“C’mon, I’m trying to help. If you overthink so much you will end up giving yourself a headache. Don’t you just look so down! Besides, you're not completely without options! You know you could always…-"

Usually it took an entire day of bullshit to get a glare and a frown on Hakuno’s face, but as luck would have it, the universe saw fit to start her day with bullshit, so desperate, tired, and pretty much done with the whole situation, Hakuno threw Gudako one of her rare glares.

“For the last time, _no._ ”

“And why the fuck _not_?” Gudako retorted immediately, determined to win their little discussion. “If he doesn't like it, at least he'll laugh— You'll cheer him right up! It's a win-win situation, see?”

The more she hears her, the more her idea seems plausible and the more she regrets ever getting into this situation in the first place.

Without missing a beat, Gudako continued. “You just need to look pretty and yadda yadda you’re done!”

“ _I’m not a fetish_ ,” Hakuno hissed, and even she was surprised at how dangerous she sounded.

"All right, all right!" Gudako then said, holding up her palms in apparent defeat. "Forgive me then for trying to inject some fun and excitement into this bitchfest!"

Butting into their conversation, Rin clicked her tongue, humming with that annoyingly superior lilt of hers.

“This is so stupid. I told you, Hakuno, you should simply get him designer clothes. Ostentation is always the way to go,” Rin butted in.

Hakuno bit her lip contemplatively.

Perhaps that might be the case, but it was not the kind of ‘meaningful’ she had in mind.

Ah, this was despairing.

“But still…”

Gudako gave her own version of a scathing look. “Oh c’mon. Like- look, _look_ , it’s almost twelve in the morning. We have been here for two hours already. If you’re going to be this indecisive about everything for the rest of the day, just admit that your best shot is _my_ idea and let’s get it over with.” The redhead then clasped Hakuno’s hands in hers and stared back into her eyes with a ridiculous, over-the-top starry-eyed look. “I’ve seen the _cutest_ store just a few meters away, Hakuno; _we still have time_.”

Hakuno groaned.

Charming as ever.

Rin harrumphed.

“See? This is what happens when you don’t make your purchases ahead of time. Really, you only have yourself to blame for that,” Rin said that in such an annoyingly stuck-up tone that Hakuno might have felt a little more than slightly offended had she not known for a fact that this was the only way Rin knew how to hold meaningful conversations with people.

She still felt somewhat bothered by that though, but that might have been desperation shrinking what little remained of her politeness filter.

Without so much as blinking, which Hakuno thought it was a little bit unsettling because it almost seemed it was somewhat practiced, Rin continued. “I made mine _months_ ago, while I was booking a flight to Ireland, in fact. Had you done the same, you wouldn’t be stressing over something so little as this.”

Hakuno didn’t grace that with an answer. Instead, she stared at the contents of her half-empty coffee mug deep in concentration, and despite what Rin might have thought or not, Hakuno was actually mulling her words over, something about them piking her interest so, but she hadn’t quite reached what exactly was that caught her attention so.

She was close, though.

Somewhere close to her, Gudako whistled.

“Ah, so you gonna visit that guy you went all the way to Okinawa with and that and you didn't even _kiss_? What was his name again? Cú?” And as if she had told some hilarious joke, Gudako started to snicker, barely containing her fit of laughter.

Ah, she was definitely getting closer now.

_Think, Hakuno, think!_

“I-It’s not like that!” Rin spluttered indignantly. Then, in a much quieter voice, looking somewhat bashful, she added, “we just were so busy that it slipped our minds…”

Judging by the even louder snort of laughter that came from the redhead, that only seemed to egg Gudako on.

“You’re bullshitting me, how could you have been busy at an _aquarium_? Busy doing _what_? Good grief, you’re worse than this clueless couple over here!” she said, pointing at Hakuno, currently too lost in her own thoughts to care of what she said.

And while a beet red-faced Rin stammered and whined over something positively asinine with Gudako, Hakuno finally, _finally_ had her oh-so-sought revelation, hitting her so hard she almost thought it was not a revelation but the start of a cardiac arrest. Thankfully though it was just one of her recurrent epiphanies, the ones she had whenever she was under the impression that she was one step closer to solve the bundle of contradictions that was Gilgamesh, and whenever she had one of those she had to stop moving, stop doing whatever she had been doing, and _think_ , think very hard, which she did, and as realization dawned on her, the sound of the whole cafeteria blending into one, Hakuno came up with the perfect gift fit for her self-proclaimed husband.

 _That’s right_ , she thought ecstatically.

_That had to be it!_

Hakuno didn’t think she’d ever jolted up from a chair as fast as she did right then.

With renewed courage and a hurried cry of “hold on a second” that was meant for her friends but that she wasn’t sure if they managed to make out in the distance, Hakuno darted off as fast as her legs allowed her to, and not without a very good reason; she just had saved Christmas.

She was going to give her asshole the best Christmas present ever

At the other side of the spectrum, and very much dumbfounded, the other two women could only watch Hakuno dart off from the cafeteria faster than she had any right to, as if she had been possessed by a spirit.

“…Wha-What was _that_?” Rin was the first to break the awkward silence that ensued after.

Gudako shrugged, looking as flabbergasted as Rin.

“Uh… hell if I know?”

* * *

The following days came to pass in a rush. She barely even noticed the passing of days until the 25th rolled over and her phone was assaulted with countless calls and text messages from her friends urging her to meet to make up for the lack of time to properly celebrate the day together.

That would be the first Christmas she spent without her friends, and without what little remained of her family -for one, Rin had to take that flight today, Gudako also had her hands full preparing something she didn’t elaborate much on, Sakura had to work the night shift that day and she would most likely have to put an all-nighter, Rani was already on her way back to her home country until the first week of January, and her twin was currently away at some college overseas and out of reach, so this would be the first Christmas she spent alone with Gilgamesh, and she didn’t know what to make of it.

Considering that Gilgamesh didn’t leave office until about seven - _who the hell works on the day of Christmas, anyway?_ \- and that her twin couldn’t skype-call her until around six, she had plenty of time to spend with her friends at the faculty's cafeteria, still opened even when the rest of the university (minus the libraries) was closed -which wasn’t probably the best place to exchange presents and the like, but with how busy all of them seemed to be as of late, they had to improvise. The gifts had been nice, actually; she received one fluffy and neatly folded Christmas sweater courtesy of one Sakura Matou, who had gone through all the trouble to knit it herself, a quirky-looking coffee mug from Rin, and an even quirkier deck of old Tarot cards that she got from Rani. She couldn’t complain.

After a long morning of present exchanging and listening to more of those unbearable Christmas carols on her way back home, she was now back in the comforts of Gilgamesh’s tacky penthouse with dinner already half set and not really having anything better to do anymore, reading in her laptop something that Hans recommended her to as she sat cross-legged on the soft cushions of her bed, the hour pushing 19.14h, but she wasn’t really enjoying the light reading -not because the book was bad or anything, but because there was something that was still irking her off and it was breaking her concentration every so often.

After some more failed attempts at regaining her concentration, Hakuno closed her laptop with an exasperated sigh, and then she gave a sideway glance at her left…

…where a single nightgown was laying neatly folded, untouched.

In the end, she wasn’t able to deter Gudako from buying her that nightgown she saw on that store that she wouldn’t stop gushing about, a golden nightgown so thin it was almost transparent. Sure, at least it was a nightgown and not an apron or something more over the top and fetishizing, and the fabrics felt nice to the touch and the lace was also a nice addition, but it was obvious that it wasn’t made to be worn if the wearer wasn’t putting an effort, to put it mildly.

However, as much as she wanted to put the thing back inside its box and store it inside the deepest depths of her closet so that no one, not even herself, would ever find it, she couldn’t find the heart to do it -it was a friend’s gift, in the end, even if she felt like throwing the accursed nightgown and forget the previous two days had ever happened every time she so much as looked at it. She could even still remember the whispered words of courage that Gudako, who seemed extremely proud of her gift, had told her earlier that day as she unwrapped the present in a _public_ cafeteria -maybe a part of her still wanted Hakuno to go for her idea if only to feast on the gossiping that would inevitably ensue, which is stupid because there was no way she was going to go through this when she had already found something other to give to the overbearing blond.

Gudako really, _really_ spent too much time with Medb and she needed to stop doing that before that woman dragged her deeper into a spiral of thotery.

Well, whatever the case was, a gift was a gift after all, Hakuno thought wearily as she kept staring at the thin, short piece of clothing that was laying on the bed, beside her. She briefly considered if it wouldn’t be best to hide it, wait for Gilgamesh to get back home before trying it on, lest he saw her wearing something so ridiculous, but if the redhead had already gone through all that trouble to get her something, she guessed she had no other choice but to give it a chance before deciding to cast it into the darkest corner of her closet where no one would ever find it again.

As vexing as she thought it was, it was still a present and she would inevitably feel bad later for looking down on it. 

…Yes, she would try it once, just this once, and then she would discard it altogether.

The chill air rose the hairs on her arms as she took off her clothes to try the thing on, and then she moved away from bed to go see herself on a tall mirror that she had on a far-end corner of her room. As expected, the nightgown not only looked thin but actually felt paper-thin, and had a loose neckline that left everything from her collarbones to the top of her cleavage exposed until it almost made her think that this and being naked wasn’t really so different. 

She glanced down at herself and frowned. It might have looked good on someone less… plain, but on her it simply looked ridiculous.

“What was she even thinking…”

Shaking her head at herself as she stood in front of the tall mirror, Hakuno decided she had already humored her friend enough for the day so that she could change back to her everyday clothes, but as she was already moving a hand to pull up the thin dress, just then, she heard the sound of a doorknob turning, coupled with the very easily identifiable sound of a set of keys jingling and turning.

Fate had it that she had to be interrupted by his arrival.

 _Shit shit shit,_ not now.

In the distance, she could more or less make out the sound of Gilgamesh's voice calling out to her.

“Mongrel, what are you doing, talking all by yourself in the dark?” she heard him say from behind the entrance door, his voice coming slightly muffled but still coming out clear enough to be distinguishable. “Has my absence distraught you so that you have lost your judgement?”

Ugh, that was just like him— she felt like smacking herself in the head for expecting anything else from him.

However, she didn’t get to have enough time to curse him properly inside her head; his footsteps grew closer and closer, and soon enough the door to her room was opening ever-so-slowly and ever-so-dramatically that the action might have as well been accompanied by ominous Latin-chanting choruses.

Oh, fuck this.

Hakuno’s face paled.

"Wait, wait, wait, don't come in...!" she called out, instinctively closing her eyes as she did, already knowing that telling Gilgamesh not to do something not only was folly, but was also an open invitation for him to do the exact opposite of what you told him not to do.

-of course, it was already too late; the lights were turned on at the same time the door to her room opened closed behind whoever had stepped inside, and a soft sound of what she could only guess was surprise came from somewhere near it.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she was met with Gilgamesh’s unblinking red eyes. She didn’t know what kind of expression she was making or how she must be looking like right then, but whatever it was that Gilgamesh was looking at, it froze him in place.

When the uncharacteristic silence that settled between the two started to tick her off, Hakuno smiled sheepishly at him and proceeded to break it with her voice.

"W... welcome home... I guess...?"

Well, at least he was speechless for once, Hakuno thought wryly to herself. That… was a start, she guessed. Although as pleasant as it was to the ears, it was too bad that this was also the first time she wished he would say _something_.

What? Was the sight of her in a silly skimpy nightgown really so disturbing?

Time passed painfully slow as she waited for a reaction— anything would do, laughter or whatever, she didn't care anymore as long he _said something._

_Come on, say something. Please. Just one word. Anything will do._

Fortunately, that moment that Hakuno felt she was going to go mad with the silence and the intense staring was promptly shattered as a small chuckle escaped him. It sounded more like a half snort than an actual laugh, really, although soon enough the small chuckle turned into a quiet laugh, then the quiet laugh grew louder and morphed into full-blown laughter.

Hakuno’s face turned sour.

Ah, so Gudako had been right all along after all.

Gilgamesh’s mirthful laughter filled the silence of the room as he slumped back and gripped the bedroom’s door for support, his nose scrunched up and head falling back.

She closed her eyes shut, defeated by her own circumstances, as a wave of embarrassment and annoyance -not sure if at herself or what, since she was too preoccupied not to die from mortification and overheat to even care about that- washed over her and tinted her whole face crimson red, already knowing he wouldn’t let her hear the end of it.

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in why don't you," she told him dejectedly as she ran a hand through her face, but she had a feeling he hadn’t even heard her.

It took her more than one second to realize that his cackling had dissipated, and when she looked up Gilgamesh was standing inches away from her, having shortened the distance between them while she was busy having a mental breakdown. As always, he had no concept of personal boundaries whatosever.

The air felt suddenly thick, her skin rising with goosebumps, and she couldn’t quite place if it was due to the cold seeping through the windows or if it was the way she was being stared at -although after so much time of being overly physical with him this shouldn’t be the case.

Hakuno tried, “Uh--”

But her words died in her throat when he reached a hand to brush back some strands of her unruly hair, tucking them behind her ear so that he could get a better glimpse at her face.

“How truly endearing that you found it in you to embellish yourself so for I. Am I to expect this tempting act of yours with decadent lingerie to be my gift, then? I was not aware festivities made you feel this amorous, Hakuno.” That smirk of his was too devious, far too devious.

Hakuno groaned. This was not how she wanted things to turn like.

"That’s not-” she then stopped mid-sentence, reconsidering her words. “…would you please stop staring at me like that?" she deadpanned.

He raised an eyebrow.

“Ridiculous. I gaze upon you as I see fit. After all, are you not but a feast for my eyes alone?" he flashed with a smile that was all teeth. "Although, do pray tell, why are you wearing that if you _don’t_ want me gazing upon you?”

The brunette made a grimace, the image of Gudako making suggestive poses suddenly flashing before her eyes. “…It’s long to explain,” was her cryptic answer. He arched his brows at her in silent command for her to go on, but she really, really didn’t want to do so right now. “In any case, yes, there is a gift. Sort of, I guess. No, it’s not on me. I’m sorry if that’s disappointing,” she trailed off, sulking slightly.

Although interestingly enough, he seemed to perk up at her words. Smirk aside, his countenance appeared to be slightly perplexed at being proven wrong in his assertion, genuinely so, and he was now looking at her in the eye.

“Do not make such hasty assumptions. What sort of gift have you thought to be worthy of my generosity, Hakuno?”

Hakuno couldn’t help but suck in a breath at that.

Ah, there it was; the moment of truth.

She suddenly felt like she couldn’t meet his eyes anymore, so instead she casted her eyes on the floor and pointed at the bedside table where a small brown folder was laying on top.

Without further questioning, Gilgamesh turned his attention to the small table, taking the folder in his hands and opening to show its contents for the world to see.

The brunette swallowed, hoping that she didn’t end up making a fool out of herself because she really tried and he never seemed to have enough time to get one, so it made sense at the time.

Inside the small folder… was a single boarding pass to the Emirates, dated between the 1st of January and the 8th. A whole week.

Gilgamesh gave her a look -Hakuno was not sure what kind of look, but it was a look that she almost didn’t recognize on him and a whole litany of ‘it’s not enough’ resonated in her head at the sight of his face until it was almost everything she could hear.

“I know you have a friend back there… I mean, it’s not much, I know,” she started, an apprehensive look on her face as if she didn’t know what sort of emotion she should be conveying right now, but somehow feeling that she still needed to explain herself to him, “but you’re always working to the point of exhaustion and you never seem to have time for anything else and you’re always talking about them to me that I sort of thought–”

And then it happened; from her mouth came out an incessant blabber, a speech so rapid and slurred that it was hard to make out by non-Japanese natives and that she hated because it made her sound too much like Rin, but thankfully the stupid mantra running through her head as well as her rapid speech were promptly interrupted when he moved over her side and kissed her, her eyes fluttering closed as she shuddered into it.

When he pulled apart, lips still precariously close to hers, Hakuno took notice of just how red his eyes were; it was almost like staring directly at a set of twin suns. She could get lost in them for hours upon. 

“And yours?” he mumbled against her lips then.

“…Huh?”

“Your pass, Hakuno.”

“…”

There was a small pause, yet another beat of silence passing between the two of them before-

“You are meaning to tell me that you have gone through all the trouble to get me a flight pass all the way back to the Emirates so that I could spend my time with my friend, and the thought of getting one for yourself did not occur to you?”

“Uh… No?” she replied with a question, as if the answer to that really was really that simple and that obvious. “I thought you would… prefer to go alone? You’re with me all the time, anyway, it must get boring after a while,” she went to elaborate, voice growing quieter and quieter as the words slipped out of her lips and the intensity of that gaze of his seemed to intensify. 

Now she felt a hundred times more conscious of her current situation, and she wished both that she had given her plan a little bit more of a thought as well as that the accursed gown she was wearing was longer and thicker than it really was, because she felt incredibly small for a reason she couldn’t quite fathom and the short, thin fabric covering her was not helping her cause at all. She watched how his face went through a variety of expressions at that, as if he, too, wasn’t sure which one to show, before it settled for the rarest of them all; a small smile, oddly pleasant and genuine, not mocking.

“You marvelous creature, always thinking and thinking about others but never taking for yourself. What sort of idiot would even dare to entertain such a train of thought?” he said in a somewhat scathing tone, nose slightly rubbing against hers.

Hakuno blinked, her confused expression only lasting a few seconds before being replaced with a frown, cheeks slightly flushed as she took two steps back away from him so that she could look at him in the eye without feeling she was somehow being cornered.

He took a step forward.

“...But yet, here this idiot stands, simple yet perfectly suited for I, acting as if she had not gifted me things far more precious than anyone could hope for on her own accord,” fingertips trail about her lips. “Ordinary that you are, your beauty transcends my greatest musings. Stay as you are, Hakuno, and gaze upon no one else but I; those are the only demands I shall make of you.”

Before a severe case of doxophobia could settle in, Gilgamesh pulled her into his arms, this time around catching _her_ off-guard now, face already burying in her neck to nip and suck and- damn, was her neck always _that_ sensitive?

Her fingers got lost in his hair, guiding him to the spots along her neck that would make her feel good, and as he licked every single one she barely realized she was being pushed backwards right until she felt herself collide against something solid.

Solid just like the edge of the bed.

With a victorious smile, he reached a hand for her waist, looking at her with the arrogant eyes of a know-it-all.

“…You should be more aware of your surroundings. You make this far easier than it should, although that might be amusing in itself. And gift or not…" Hakuno let out a humiliating gasp as she was thrown on the bed. "…this dress-up act of yours has amused me. I deem it fair that you take full responsibility for your actions just now.” And he climbed on top of her then, fingers already ghosting over the inside of her thighs.

Her cheeks flared red again.

“Gil, it’s only seven-”

“Hush,” He got a hold of her two legs and put them around his waist. “I do believe it's traditional to give your husband something to take off on festivities such as these. You wouldn’t want to call upon bad luck when you already seem to have enough to last for three generations, would you?”

And now he was making things up, just when she thought he was being sweet for once. This is why she couldn’t have nice things.

He was so completely full of shit it was almost unreal.

She was going to argue that there was no such tradition and that knowing him there would be a repeat of this every day -and most probably twice on Sundays- but he took advantage of her half-opened mouth to easily slide his tongue in to tease her own shamelessly with wet, obscene sounds and whatever thoughts she might have had ebbed with that. She couldn't hold back a moan as his hands started to caress her legs, nor a gasp when he groaned back against her mouth.

Nibbling her lower lip gently, he let her go so that she could catch her breath, resting his forehead against hers as a satisfied smile tugged at his lips. Again, he looked exactly like someone who had gotten away with something would look like, and somehow Hakuno felt it was partly her fault that he was being so smug and so full of himself.

“You have to be more honest with yourself, Hakuno,” he said, voice barely a whisper. “I am giving you five seconds before I tear this off of you," he mumbled against her lips.

Her body jolted again when he kissed her breasts through that thin fabric, lips trailing down her breastbone and gradually moving towards her belly.

“But dinner-”

He lifted the gown up to her belly button, trailing a path of kisses down her thighs that was distracting enough that she wasn’t actively aware that his fingers had curled around the hem of her underwear and had pulled it aside until he was already rubbing along her slippery folds. She knew she had to be wet down there already, as she could feel herself dripping and the fabric of her underwear was starting to cling with it, but it wasn’t until she felt his fingers glide against her folds that she didn’t realize she was _that_ wet already, and he hadn't even _really_ touched her yet. 

Apparently it came as a pleasant surprise to them both, because next thing he did was take a sharp, shaky inhale of breath at the feeling of her wetness. 

“Four seconds,” he continued.

“What about-”

He bit hard at her inner thigh, earning a pathetic whine out of her, dizzy with lust.

“Three seconds.”

“Mn…”

This was so vexing…

"Two seconds left."

Her hands took a fistful of the sheets around her as he went even lower down her stomach, spreading her legs further, slowly inching closer towards her wetness…

…And she parted her thighs to give him better access.

“…You’re mine, then.”

He set to make short work of her gown, sliding it up her thighs, pulling it off over her head and tossing it across the room along with her underwear.

The rest happened in a blur; she melted into his touch with a light gasp, losing herself without a care for anything else as he delved deep between her folds before flicking quickly at her clit. Any retort that she might have had was clamped down by everything he was doing to her.

His lips curved into a devious smile as he lapped at her wetness, a smile that promised hours of devotion and a busy, busy Christmas night.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not gonna lie, I actually had a lot of fun writing this absurdness. Even though I'm a bit of a scrooge myself and I struggle writing fluff of any kind, I have a soft spot for Christmas fics and couples being extra idiotic on Christmas -sue me.


End file.
